“Funny how he’s only won 53% of his points” - Nelly Korda resonates with Roger Federer’s commencement speech at Dartmouth
Nelly Korda recently offered to help tennis legend Roger Federer improve his golf skills. The LPGA star asked if the 42-year-old needed a coach after watching his swing on social media. Now, the golfer has revealed that parts of the tennis ace’s commencement address at Dartmouth have resonated with her.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the 2024 KPMG Women's PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club, Nelly Korda said that Federer’s speech addressed topics that are equally applicable to the game of golf. The World No. 1 player dubbed it “funny” how the Swiss legend only managed to win “53% of his points in his lifetime.”
The 25-year-old noted that the principle remains the same for golf. The 2020 Olympic gold medalist joined Federer in admitting that “you're going to fail more than you win” and this fuels great players.
Replying to a media query if she resonated with Roger Federer’s viral speech, Nelly Korda said (at 10:22):
“It is funny how he (Roger Federer) has only won what like 53% of his points in his lifetime. And that's the same thing with golf. They get second serves and maybe if we mess up and we make a big number on a whole, it's a little bit more penalizing than if they double fault, let's say depending on where they are in their match, but it's true.
"I mean, you're going to fail more than you win and I think that's what fuels a player as well in sports.”
For the unversed, Roger Federer gave the famous commencement speech at Dartmouth last week. The speech has since gone viral, with personalities across sports lauding the ace player for the content of the address which talked about topics ranging from tennis, passion and containment.
Nelly Korda offers to coach tennis legend after watching his golf swing
Roger Federer recently announced picking up a “new hobby” as he posted a video of him teeing it up on the golf course. The 20-time Grand Slam champion’s Instagram video, where he’s seen wearing Uniqlo apparel with his signature ‘RF’ logo cap in red and stylish sunglasses, was well received by the golf world.
Golfers like Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee jumped in to laud the tennis star. While the veteran Aussie threw in a bunch of fire emojis, 25-year-old Lee asked for a “call” to play together. European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald rated the swing as ‘smooth as Rog’s backhand.’
However, Nelly Korda was quick to ask in the comments section if he needed her to coach him.
The LPGA star commented “Do you need a coach?” under the post where the seven-time Wimbledon champion had written “Any pointers?” She hasn’t received a reply yet.
It is pertinent to note that Korda is not new to the tennis world. The golfer is the daughter of former tennis superstars Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtova. She is also the younger sister of ATP pro Sebastian Korda, who himself commented “Damn” under Federer’s post. Jessica Korda, Nelly’s sister and also an LPGA pro, dubbed the tennis star’s swing as “pure.”